Chapter 4 - A Familiar Face
Genomex..."Mr. Larkin. I hope you've brought me something of merit," a rather impatient Eckhart said.
"You wanted me to keep you updated on the terrorist situation? One of our operatives uncovered some information about a secret terrorist cell operating just outside of New York City. Over the last 16 years they've been recruiting retired and discharged army personnel," Larkin handed him a photograph, "We managed to obtain this, the leader's name is..."
"Samual Augustine," Eckhart looked as though he had just seen a ghost. He sat there for a moment and pondered his next move. "Well, it seems the dynamics of the game have just changed considerably. Given the current circumstances, I'm afraid our business with Ms. Fox will have to wait for now. Right now, your number one priority is to put this cell out of commission. Take every last man available to this base. You are free to use any methods necessary, but bring Augustine back to me alive."
"Yes sir," Larkin said looking rather confused. Eckhart's mood had changed from irritation to fear. Larkin had never seen Eckhart like this and it was making him nervous.
"It is absolutely imperative that this mission is successful. A man as dangerous as Augustine would definitely make life more difficult for us. You are dismissed." Larkin left, leaving Eckhart alone. He looked at Augustine's photo again and felt a wave of anxiety go through him. "Well, Samuel. It looks like our paths will indeed cross again."
Sanctuary...
"So how long have you been on your own?" Shalimar asked as she served a couple of sandwiches to Willow, who was obviously famished judging by how fast the sandwiches disappeared of the plate. "Woa, not so fast. You're gonna make yourself sick." Oh, my god I'm starting to sound like my mother, she thought to herself.
"I've been on the run for about a year now. Basically, going from city to city, always making sure I'm one step ahead of Genomex," Willow said just as she gulped down a glass of milk. Shalimar smiled at Willow's somewhat innocent nature.
"Sounds awfully lonely. What about family or friends?" Shalimar was checking to see exactly how much Genomex would've told her or rather not told her.
"I've never been in one place long enough to make any friends. The last safehouse I was in, was the longest I had ever stayed in one place. The mutants there were pretty nice to me. I liked them. And family...well, I was raised at Genomex from the time I was a baby. So the concept of family is somewhat alien to me." Willow found herself somewhat intrigued by Shalimar. Oddly enough, she felt comfortable with her presence. She had her reservations about the others, but Shalimar seemed to be more understanding and gentle. She liked her.
Adam and Emma strolled into the kitchen to join them. "So Willow? How are you feeling?" Adam asked.
Willow took a deep breath and sat in her chair with her hands on her stomach. "Pretty full. A little tired too."
Emma gave her a strange look, "You just slept for 6 hours! How can you still be tired?" Emma smiled at her.
Willow just shrugged, "What can I say? That bed was pretty damn comfortable."
Shalimar smiled and got up, "Alright, I'll walk you to your room."
"Adam if I didn't know any better, I would say she's avoiding me," Emma looked at him puzzled.
"That's because she knows you're a psionic. Must be something she doesn't want you to know. You and Shalimar keep a close eye on her," Adam walked away from her. "I'm gonna go and finish up in the lab."
Willow's Room..."Thank you for the sandwiches, Shalimar," Willow said sincerely.
"You're welcome. Emma and I will be close by if you need anything alright?" Shalimar smiled back.
"Did you guys really mean what you said back there; you'd keep me safe from Genomex?" Willow asked with a look of hope in her eyes.
"Absolutely. You're safe with us. We will protect you," Shalimar reassured her.
"Thank you," Willow said as her head dropped down to the pillow.
Shalimar turned the lights off and left Willow to sleep. She turned as she reached the entrance to the room and smiled, "You're welcome."
Old Warehouse just Outside of New York...A couple dozen Genomex agents quietly surrounded an old warehouse. Larkin stood back silently directing the other agents into position, as they prepared to storm the building.
"We're in position, sir." Larkin turned and nodded as he adjusted his headset. "Copy that, move in. And remember Augustine is not to be harmed under any circumstances."
Larkin cautiously approached the door of the building. He directed the other agents around him as they surrounded the door. He held his gun up and kicked the door in. Swiftly making his way into the warehouse, the other agents followed.
The air was quite stale and moldy. Larkin quickly scanned the room, finding nothing but old bottle caps and rusty nails on the floor. The only light in the room was the daylight seeping through the boarded up windows that stood on either side of the door. Taking out his flashlight, he listened for sounds of life. When he heard nothing but silence, he looked at the others, each of them shaking their heads.
"Second unit, anything?" Larkin whispered into his headset.
"Uh that's a negative, sir," a voice came through on the other end.
Larkin sighed with frustration at the lack of activity. "Alright, stay alert. Carry on."
The air became denser, the further into the building they moved. Larkin heard a sound of a rolling bottle. Thinking that someone was there, he quietly made his way towards the room where the sounds were coming from. Quietly standing at the side of the door, Larkin readied himself. He quickly turned the corner into the room, his eyes frantically searching for the culprit. His eyes came upon an old desk sitting in the corner of the room. Quietly, he began to make his way towards the desk. Slowly, he leaned over top of the desk to get a closer look. A giant rat had taken up residence behind the desk and was intrigued with a beer bottle that was resting at the bottom of a chair. Unsatisfied with the discovery, Larkin shook his head and quickly left the room.
"Anything?" Larkin was now desperate for something. The agents all just looked at him dumfounded.
"Nothing, sir. All these rooms are completely deserted," one responded scratching his head.
"Squad two, what's your status?" Larkin asked, hoping they had better news.
"We just swept the second level. Nobody's home. There is some evidence to suggest there was some heavy activity taking place, but whatever happened here, I think we missed it." Frustration overtook Larkin as he contemplated what to do next.
"Alright, then, the area's clean. Everyone move out." Larkin clenched his fists in anger. "Damn!"
Sanctuary..."So what are you thinking?" Emma caught up with Shalimar in the dojo as she was doing some breathing exercises.
"I think you already know the answer to that," Shalimar smiled as she stopped to take a rest.
"Yeah, I know. I just want to hear you say it," Emma replied, sitting down next to Shalimar.
"Well, she seems like a sweet kid. Very smart, knows how to take care of herself. She looks alot like me when I was that age." Shalimar silently laughed at the thought. It was almost scary how much Willow reminded her of herself.
"I'm sensing there's a but in there somewhere." Emma looked at Shalimar waiting for an answer.
"...But, I think she also has a knack for finding trouble, even when she doesn't go looking for it," Shalimar smiled when she realized what that statement sounded like.
"Yeah, not unlike someone I know," Emma laughed. "From just meeting her and seeing her mannerisms, I'd say you guys are two of a kind. Although, I'd say she seems to be a little bit more refined."
Shalimar just laughed and shook her head. It seemed to be, from first impressions, an accurate statement. "Are you saying she's more sophisticated than I am?" Shalimar gave her a look. Emma sensed Shalimar's playfulness and smiled.
"You wouldn't dare. Not to an injured woman." Emma giggled.
"Just wait until you're feeling better," Shalimar warned.
"Ahem..."
Both girls turned to see Adam approaching them. "Sorry for the interruption. Jesse and Brennen are on their way back." His expression turned to one of frustration.
"What happened?" Emma asked, sensing the sudden change of emotion in Adam.
"The safehouse was destroyed." Both Emma and Shalimar had concerned looks on their faces. "Brennen and Jesse managed to get everyone out before it blew. Everyone's fine, which is the good news. Turns out when Brennen was gonna question one of the soldiers, he found the soldier had C4 strapped to his waste and in trying to rouse him, he triggered the detonator."
"Sounds like that was their intention all long," Shalimar was certain that there was clear intent to kill everyone inside.
"I know. Time's getting short and we need answers pretty quick. First off, what I'd like to know is who they are." Adam shrugged trying to make sense of what was happening. "Then to find out how they found the location to the safehouse."
"They must have someone working on the inside. That's the only logical explanation," Emma added.
Adam nodded in agreement and turned to Shalimar. "We need Willow's co-operation. If she knows anything about what happened in that safehouse, we need to know. I have a feeling our lives may depend on it."
Just then a shattering scream rang through the Sanctuary. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Stop it! Stop!" All three looked at each other. Shalimar and Adam ran to Willow's room, Emma grabbed her crutches and rushed to join them.
Willow was having a violent nightmare and thrashing about in the bed. Shalimar instinctively ran and jumped on the bed next to her to rouse her out of her sleep. "Willow wake up! It's just a nightmare! Your safe!"
"They killed them all! Every last one! They killed them all!" Willow yelled, her eyes still closed. With a sudden jerk, Willow threw herself up, to wake herself. Feeling confused, she looked around frantically to remember where she was.
"It's okay Willow, we're here. You were just having a nightmare," Shalimar said as she brushed stray hairs out of Willows face. Willow had finally calmed herself down and Adam new it was time for her to share what she knew.
"Willow, I think it's time you told us what happened in the safehouse." Adam spoke gently as to not let Willow think she was in any trouble. Willow looked at him, quite unsure of what to say.
Emma approached Willow and took her hand, feeling somewhat relieved when she didn't pull away. "Willow? Please help us. The more you can tell us, the more we can help you. Okay?"
Willow thought hard for a moment and realized there was no point in arguing. "Alright." Pulling herself to the side of the bed, she sat and faced Adam. Shalimar sat beside with her arm instinctively around her shoulder.
"We were playing poker, a few of the others and myself. Landon, Jade and Matti. They were the three I was closest to. I'd spent about three weeks there. I don't usually stay in one place for that long and that was suppose to be my last night there. I had become closer to them then I had intended and I didn't want them to be used as pawns against me. Anyways, I was tired so I left the three them playing, well Matti went out for a cigarette and they were gonna wait for him to come back to play some more." A tear escaped Willow's eye as she gently wiped it off her cheek. "I went up to my room and packed my belongings. Everything I own in the world is in that bag there." She pointed to the tote bag sitting in the corner of the room. "I was just about to fall asleep when I heard a lot of racket coming from downstairs. There was shouting going on, so I went to peak through the door to see what was happening."
Shalimar's hold on Willow tightened, as she was struggling to continue.
"The whole lower level was full of soldiers. They were all dressed in black army gear and wearing ski masks to cover their faces. I thought the GSA had found me. I panicked and grabbed my bag. There was a lot of gunfire coming from downstairs. I was looking for a way to escape. There was a ventilation shaft in the corner ceiling of the room, so I crawled through it. I guess the shaft led directly over the lower area, cause I can upon a small hole in the shaft as I passed over them." She began to sob.
Adam approached Willow and kneeled before her, placing his hand on her knee in support. Willow regained a little composure and continued.
"I saw Landon and Jade taking cover behind a table. Landon got up and tried to stop the fight and...they...they shot him." Tears were falling freely now, as Shalimar tried to console her. "Jade screamed his name and was shot as she tried to pull back behind the table. When all of a sudden the fighting stopped. I saw a tall, dark man dressed in black, walk into the room. I think he had a beard or something. He said something to one of the soldiers and then walked out. They lined the survivors up against the wall and shot them all." Willow was really struggling now. Overcome with emotion she stopped for a minute to pull herself together. "They started rolling in gas cans and began to pour gasoline all over the place. On the bodies, everywhere. Then they all left and someone lit the gasoline. The whole place was up in flames in seconds. I knew the only chance I had was to get to the roof and jump into the bay. I made it with seconds to spare and swam to the other side of the bay."
The whole room was silent as all three tried to ingest what they just heard. Emma shook her head and stared at the ground feeling overwhelming sympathy for this poor kid.
"I was a coward. I didn't help them. I just sat there watched those men kill my friends. I should've done something," Willow cried, as Shalimar hugged her.
Adam patted her leg. "You did the only thing you could. There's no shame in that. If you would've tried to help them, you would've been killed too."
Willow looked at him. "Then why do I feel so guilty?"
"It's natural to feel that way, especially when you feel helpless. You did the best possible thing you could. You lived to fight another day," Adam smiled sympathetically.
Willow nodded and rested her head on Shalimar's shoulders. Adam thought of an idea ,"Willow. Do you think you could identify the man if you saw him?"
She pondered this for a few seconds. It was quite difficult to make out the man's features except for the beard, but it might be worth a shot. "I might be able to."
"Okay, Shalimar and Emma, you stay with Willow and I'll go onto the database and find profiles on employees of Genomex, Army, Marine, or anything related." Adam got up to leave the room.
"Don't you think that's a bit of a shot in the dark?" Shalimar asked, unsure of what Adam expected to find.
"Maybe, but you gotta start somewhere."
End of Chapter 4.
Chapter 5 is gonna be a longer chapter, so it may take sometime to write. I'm slowly trying to tie everything together and this chapter will do that. So be patient, it will be here soon.
I also noticed there's something wrong with the chapter advance going to chapter 5. Instead use the little chapter advance arrow beside the chapter listing, I find that seems to work.