Jake is missing.
Rose hasn't had a chance to check their usual training spots, but it hardly matters. Even if she finds reason or opportunity to slip away without arousing suspicion, she already knows she won't find him there. Jake may have risked finishing up his scouting mission early to try to get in some extra training, but he isn't foolish enough to risk losing track of time, not for this long.
She bends her head over her work, sorting through the scout reports and matching the times and locations to make future cross referencing easier. Jake's report isn't there, of course. It never came in with the others, which means he hasn't made it back to headquarters. She hopes that was the first clue to his absence and not the final confirmation.
If she holds her breath and moves carefully, she can just make out the conversation between the elders. She knows they won't say anything too important, not out here, not where they could be overheard. Not unless they are trying to rout out a spy. Still, she is desperate for any information; even if she must work quietly to confirm it, she needs a starting point. Knowing Jake's assigned scouting location isn't enough. It would take too long to search carefully to find a clue that would lead her to the truth of whatever had happened, and she can't afford to be caught out now.
Fight or not, recent rocky relationship or not, Huntsgirl's close friendship with 99 is known.
"...two hours now. We are working to confirm 99's last known location, but we suspect he vanished in the oldest section of Chinatown."
Careful. That's the sort of false information they'd allow to be overheard if they suspected treachery. They must have his last known location confirmed by now; they would have known where to begin their search, and they are able to connect to every security camera in the city. By naming a general location and not the nearest intersection...
"72's report?"
"No unusual activity beyond a suspected leprechaun sighting."
There has to be more. Rose is hardly unfamiliar with the scout reports; they aren't seen by those who aren't given a higher degree of trust, and that trust is never given without being earned. She isn't the only one with a chance to overhear this discussion, but she'd be a fool to think she is the one under the least amount of suspicion because of her higher status among her peers.
Skill does not guarantee loyalty; it merely makes disloyalty trickier to spot.
She wonders when they began to wonder about her. When they began to wonder about Jake. It would not only be now, and it sets her mind racing, trying to figure out what behaviour of theirs would be seen as suspicious. She hasn't met with Jake as often lately, and that might work in her favour now, a bit, but Jake...
It almost doesn't matter if he ran off or if he was captured by the dragons—or another magical creature that would inevitably try to turn him over to the dragons for a boon. Disloyalty is punished more harshly than incompetence, but his secret would be in danger in either case. If Jake was taken by the dragons, the elders might assume that they were ready to grab any member of the Huntsclan—those the right age for initiates especially—but this would become a test. Jake would be expected to escape, to slay the American Dragon or at the very least bring back her location and knowledge of her human form, and if he did not, he would be assumed a traitor, and they would all be given orders to eliminate him.
Such orders would not be immediate; they would give him time. Rose knows that. She doesn't fear that Jake won't escape. He should have surprise on his side, knowledge and skills the dragons don't know to expect. However, she fears he won't bring back enough information on the dragons to satisfy the Huntsclan—and an even greater part of her fears that he will knowingly bring back false information.
Any information Jake brought back would be closely vetted, and any discrepancies in that information and what the Huntsclan already knows as fact would be discovered sooner rather than later. They wouldn't immediately mark him as a traitor, knowing that the dragons could have fed him false information, but they would watch him closely. He would never get away with his individual training sessions, never get a chance to do whatever else it is he's been doing without her, and the moment he gave them the slightest reason to suspect his loyalties—
Jake is no better off than she is if the dragons realize that he is a dragon himself. He's been in their clutches once already; if they had recognized him as 99 and captured him specifically, then they must know, or at least strongly suspect, the reason she was willing to make that trade. They would have no reason to free a dragon loyal to the Huntsclan.
If Jake is still loyal to the Huntsclan.
She doesn't know. She used to be able to predict his actions with such absolute certainty. They would fight well together, knowing each other's moves, communicating with a glance. That's gone now, swallowed by the distance that stretches between them, a chasm she can't seem to cross.
If Jake had decided to run….
He would have told me.
Rose wishes she could be certain of that, but she can't. Jake hasn't trusted her with the truth of everything for months now. She knows that. She's called him on it, given him ample opportunity to tell her, even in pieces, and he avoids or evades every time. She prefers that to the times he lies to her face, but it still hurts. It hurts as much as the excuses he gives for his silence.
"…ten hours. Three for a slightly elevated threshold, one for moderate. Deployment should be considered now if there are other concerns."
Risk assessment. Rose stares at the reports, not comprehending a word as she listens. She hadn't thought they'd mention this here, but what better way to spur someone like her into action? She doesn't have a way to contact Jake. She couldn't warn him about any of this even if she wanted to. But if she had had a way?
"Three."
That's not much time. They're suspicious. It would have her looking for a way to contact him if she could. What are you trying to do, Jake? She hadn't thought their friendship so beyond repair, but he hadn't so much as hinted at anything, and this goes beyond the excuse that ignorance protects her. Jake's disappearance is endangering her, and her lack of knowledge is more burden than boon.
No. She's being unfair. Her ignorance does protect someone: him. From her. From what she might say, whether unwittingly or while bespelled.
"—untsgirl."
Rose stills, catching her title but not the context. She stares at the words on the pages in front of her, but they begin to blur as her eyes burn. Her hands move automatically to shuffle the papers, but she doesn't dare straighten or look up.
This is why Jake wouldn't tell her, however much she pressed.
She doesn't know why she didn't see it before. It's the best test of loyalty they could give her. If she's sent, it won't be alone. They will assign someone as her minder. If she so much as hesitates, they'll know, and they'll act appropriately.
Jake is better off if he's believed to be a traitor than a dragon. A quick death is better than being slowly torn apart and studied. The best scenario is still the first one—that Jake is missing because he was captured simply because he is part of the Huntsclan—because in every other instance, she will be forced to make a choice, and neither option is pleasant.
What's the third option?
She can't see it. She knows it must be there, knows it would be painfully obvious to her if she could quiet the churning turmoil of fear and worry and guilt that rages inside of her. She should have planned for this. She should have talked through contingency plans with Jake. She should have pushed him to talk so they could consider this possibility instead of allowing him to keep shutting down their conversations.
"Huntsgirl."
Training is the only thing to keep her from jumping; the conversation is no longer distant. Rose blinks, hoping the glimmer of tears will be taken for weariness, and focuses on the Huntsclan elder who now stands beside her. He's not a field agent. She can't remember him ever being one, but they aren't all. Not all fighting is done with conventional weapons. "Sir?"
"Follow me."
She stands without bothering to fuss over the papers, though she knows she won't be returning. Everyone in this room would have the clearance to see their contents at a glance, and it wouldn't do to be seen as stalling. She's led out of the main room, and her heart hammers in her chest as they draw towards the interrogation chambers. It is all she can do not to sigh with relief when she is directed into one of the brightly lit assignment and debriefing rooms beforehand. Even the closed door behind her is little cause for concern; such discussion is always conducted in private.
"99 has not returned from his mission," the elder tells her without preamble. There is a table and chairs inside, but he doesn't sit, so she remains standing as well. He is watching her face, and she tries to keep it as impassive as possible. "This is not a surprise to you."
It isn't a question, and now is not the time to lie. "No, sir. I've been cross referencing the scout reports, and his is missing."
"You didn't think to report this yourself?"
Rose fights to keep the panic off her face. She isn't sure how successful she is; the elder's expression betrays nothing. "Reports have been misplaced before. Had I finished and it had not turned up or been presented to me by someone else, I would have made my own report."
"You know how important it is to deal with these things quickly."
Rose says nothing. Agreement would damn her as readily as argument.
The elder finally gestures for her to sit, and they sit. There is often a slight chill in these rooms, to keep the tired alert, but the cold metal of the chair feels like ice. The table must be the same, but the elder clasps his hands in front of him and rests them on the table. "You know 99's skills. Do you believe he could be hurt, waiting for backup that has not yet come?"
"I believe 99 is a competent agent," she answers carefully, well aware that there is a trap within the elder's question, "but competence and luck are both required when going up against an enemy with greater skill."
"So you think he was bested in a fight? Not, let's say, that he decided on a change of scenery?"
Rose swallows, trying to push down her rising fear. 72's report didn't list anything out of the ordinary. While it is possible for one agent to be attacked without drawing the attention of another agent, it's rare—especially when the other agent isn't busy with what later turns out to be a planned distraction.
The elder's insinuation about a change of scenery, though….
This is why they're talking to her.
They think Jake ran, and they think he talked to her about it.
They don't know that Jake has refused to tell her everything—anything—for months.
She wants to say that Jake is loyal, that he wouldn't betray the Huntsclan, that he wouldn't just leave in the middle of a mission, that he has no cause to even contemplate the idea, but she cannot.
In the end, she is silent for so long that the elder continues. "99's recent behaviour has been worrisome. I'm sure I don't need to tell you, of all people, the signs."
The signs. She knows which signs he means. Jake hasn't been sleeping well, something the others in his dorm would have reported once it became an ongoing issue. It's been affecting his classes, making his reactions more sluggish, his wit slower, his mind more prone to wandering. Have they noticed that he's been eating more, even compared to the others his age? Have they noticed his absences when he sneaks off to train without her—or, worse still, their absences, when they're off together despite saying that they're still working through the aftermath of their fight? Have they noticed something about his dragon side that she and Jake failed to adequately hide? Have they discovered the corruption of the electronic files—any of the electronic files—and realized that she and Jake should be among the prime suspects?
Is there anything she can say in his defense that will be believed, given who she is to Jake?
"You do not, sir," she murmurs. She wants to look down, look anywhere but his face, but she doesn't dare break his gaze. It would not be taken as an admission of guilt alone, but it would be used against her if it came to it.
He waits.
"I do not believe 99 would have defected." It almost sounds like a lie to her ears, even though she still thinks he wouldn't have done so without telling her, somehow, even if he hadn't told her outright. She manages to keep her voice steady, but she has no idea what her words sound like to the elder. "This is his home, as it is mine."
"But something has been coaxing him out when he is not permitted to go out," the elder says, "and he may not view it as his home any longer."
Rose tightens her hands into fists beneath the table, even though that does nothing to calm her racing heart.
They know Jake has been sneaking out, and the elder's use of something and not someone is not a mistake. They must have been going through the video feeds the moment they realized his report was missing, the moment they suspected something might have happened, that he might have done something. She can't remember the last time one of them had the opportunity to wipe the records. Is she incriminated as well? Has this been her interrogation all along, merely under a different guise than she'd been expecting?
She doesn't think they know of Jake's true nature—the line of questioning would've been different, and it certainly would have taken place in an interrogation chamber—but they clearly think he might be compromised.
Just like she's compromised, even though they don't know it yet.
Or do they?
"Find him," the elder says, "and then he can speak for himself on the matter. Gather what you need; those chosen to assist you with this task will be briefed and sent to meet you at the armoury in an hour."
Rose nods and murmurs a quiet, "Yes, sir." An hour doesn't feel like enough time to come up with a plan when she has so little information, especially when she doesn't know who will be accompanying her. Based on what she'd overheard earlier, she thought she'd have three hours, but eavesdropping is hardly the most reliable method of gathering information when the speakers are well aware of listening ears.
When the dismissal comes, it takes every effort not to flee.
