A/N: Hey guys! Chapter 8 of Agent Reach! It can't seem to come quicker, I know. And there are a few things I want to clarify.

Yes, Reach will end up meeting the Reds and Blues. You can imagine how frustrated he will be when that time comes.

Two, we will see a bit more of Missouri, and a bit more of the Director's manipulative side.

But, no spoilers for Tex's origin in this story, though one has pretty much nailed it…don't cheat by looking at the reviews either :P.

Anyway, thanks for making this my first fic to reach the 80 review plateau! Y'all are amazing!

*Chapter 8*

The Director sat in his chair, his arms folded across his chest as he rewatched the replay of the recent training room fight. 'Even a brawler like Missouri was unable to handle Reach, who is still recovering from that chest wound. Impressive…'

He heard a knock on the door, and a deep, fury-filled voice growled from the other side. "Director? It's me." Missouri.

The Director opened the door, allowing the blue/green Freelancer in. "So, the test was unsuccessful then." Missouri's swollen eyes blazed, his breaths coming out hard. "He got lucky. Nothing else!"

The Director smirked, knowing how much Missouri hated to lose. 'He's just as stubborn as my daughter…though she hasn't battled Reach yet. She does have firsthand experience of his fighting capabilities though.'

Missouri slumped his shoulders, embarrassed at his defeat. "Sir, what do we do now? If Reach starts to get wary enough, he'll start to suspect us."

The Director paused, thinking. "You do have a good point. If Reach has a reason to suspect us of something, there is a chance he'll look into it. However, seeing as he is a proper soldier, he won't ask questions. So, for the mean time, don't fret about Reach. Worry about improving yourself to be able to match and overpower him in the future."

Missouri nodded, saluting. "Of course, sir." He turned on his heel and left, leaving the Director alone. He turned the replay of the fight on again, stroking his chin. 'Time to work out an idea for Missouri to beat him.'

-0-

Reach sat down, looking at the heart monitor as Texas's breathing gradually increased. 'She'll make it. Good, as I want to look into CT's words with her more closely. No doubt Texas will be curious to know.'

He glanced up at the clock, wiping his eyes as he saw it was nearly three thirty in the morning. 'I've been here for that long? Damn. I didn't even realize it…time flies when you're alone with your thoughts.'

The lone medic, who was seemingly exhausted himself, glanced over at Reach. "Are you planning on staying here all night?" Reach nodded slowly, not budging. 'Until she opens her eyes again. I'll wait for as long as it takes.'

The medic sighed and went back into his office, probably fiddling with a large amount of paperwork. Reach pulled his knife from its sheath and began to twirl it, his fingers nimble despite of the armor encasing his body. The blade completed a series of complicated arcs in the air, spinning.

He balanced the very tip of the knife on his armored finger. It hung there for several seconds, perfectly still. 'I'm nowhere as good as Emile with these things, but I still think I can play around with these and not get hurt.'

A subtle shift in the Mother of Invention's gravity caused the knife to tip. 'Dammit. That must mean the ship has either changed course, or has gone into Slip-space.' Reach plucked it from the air and sheathed it in a single deft move.

He rested his elbows on the side of the cot, running a hand through his short hair. 'I could use a trim, too. At least I don't have to shave constantly like Jorge.' He let out a soft chuckle as he pictured the lone Spartan II of Noble Team, desperately trying to convince Carter to let him keep his mustache. 'Big old Hungarian bastard…I think you would like it here, mate. Then Wyoming could give you a run for your money when it comes to who has the better facial hair.'

Reach remembered several times when Kat repeatedly tried to shave Jorge's facial hair off while he was asleep. 'Carolina reminds me of her a bit. Cool, composed, determined; it's like everyone I knew on Reach still live on in other people.'

As if he had mentally summoned the light blue Freelancer, she entered, wiping an enormous amount of sweat from her brow. "Reach." Carolina was noticeably limping, and she winced every time she placed weight on her left leg.

Reach's eyes narrowed as he observed the slight injury. 'It's probably nothing much, a muscle pull at the most. She'll be fine within a day or two.'

Carolina sat on an empty cot, placing a heating pad under her leg and sighing in satisfaction. "That's a lot better." She leaned back, resting her hands behind her back and looking up at the white ceiling. "Reach, something's been bothering me since that last op. What did CT mean when she said that Tex was a shadow and the Director broke major laws?"

'So, she's been thinking about that, too,' Reach thought. The former Spartan shrugged his shoulders, not having an answer. "No idea." 'We can't do much until Texas awakes, and even then, it'll take a few days for her to recuperate. For now, all we can do is watch and make sure we don't seem suspicious.'

Carolina let out a sigh. "I guess we just ignore it? It could have just been CT trying to save her own skin." Reach shook his head in disagreement. "No." 'CT sounded desperate back then, as if what she was doing was right. But Carolina has a point, too. She could have been trying to make herself seem less of a traitor. Both are possible.'

He traced an old scar down his cheek, thinking. 'I say we look into this, carefully. If it is true, then the Director will be on his guard, keeping a lookout. If it's false, then he won't need to be worried.'

'Then again, if he felt what he was doing was right, even it was illegal, then he wouldn't feel remorse or guilt,' Reach added, having made up his mind. "I say we keep a low profile. We don't want to raise any suspicion." 'And I'd really want Texas's input on this, for she's likely to be curious as well.'

Carolina nodded, and Reach felt something around his hand tighten. 'What is that?' He looked down to see a pair of dark blue eyes open, and Reach felt his mind fill with relief. 'She made it.'

Texas blinked, looking incredibly exhausted. "Reach? You stayed here this whole time?" The former Spartan shook his head. "Only for the night." 'No reason to lie.'

Texas sat up, wincing as she felt her side. "Son of a…" She looked across from her, meeting the cool green gaze of the other Freelancer in the room. "Carolina."

Reach held his breath as he felt the tension between the two Freelancers thicken. 'These two aren't exactly on the best of terms, are they?'

Carolina limped over to Texas, not removing her green gaze from Texas's. "You feeling alright?" Texas blinked, seemingly surprised by the concern in the light blue Freelancer's voice. "I guess."

Reach himself was a bit surprised. 'I was half-expecting Carolina to either ignore her entirely or just lash out with a snarky remark. I guess that talk with her earlier calmed her down.' He stood up, stretching out his body and hearing the bones crack. 'I didn't think I was this old.' "Missouri challenged me earlier."

Reach wasn't surprised by the gasps coming from both female Freelancers. "He WHAT!?" Reach leaned back against the wall of the medical bay, not too showing much emotion. "He challenged me; he lost. 'It's really not all that simple…but I'm sure Florida and North Dakota will tell them more.'

Texas's eyebrows rose. "Really? If that's the case, then you're better than I originally thought." She winced as she swung her legs out of the bed, sitting up completely as she ran a finger over the wound on her stomach. "…what about the mission?"

Reach shared a glance with Carolina, giving her the reigns. 'Might as well. Texas was unconscious for most of that fight, and she has no clue that we failed.'

The light blue Freelancer let out a sigh and looked down. "We failed. CT and their leader got away." Texas's eyes narrowed, and Reach noticed just how eerily similar the two looked. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Texas and Carolina are related.'

Texas's hands trembled ever so slightly, the only visible sigh that she was extremely cross. "You're telling me, essentially…that after all this time of trying to make sure our enemy doesn't get our technology, CT walked away unscathed!?"

Carolina scratched the back of her hair, shaking her head. "Not quite. You see, after you got hit, Reach and I fought them, and we managed to wound both of them, but they had an escape pod at the ready. We simply didn't plan ahead and scout the place out, I guess."

Texas let out an unsatisfied noise, but she turned to Reach, the former Spartan still standing silently. "Anything else to add?" Her tone was frosty, not entirely unexpected for someone of her ranking.

Reach shook his head subtly, not giving much away from his Mark VI helmet. 'No. Carolina summed it up, pretty much spot on. We should have put more thought into that strike; we should have sent scouts to observe the installation, then have a thorough scan of the entire facility.'

'It's partially my fault for wanting to go after CT so soon,' he thought. Texas stood up, the injury of her back bright red, and she slid into a pair of fatigues. "You two look there's another reason why you came down here. It's not to give me a 'Get Well Soon Card', that's for damn sure."

Reach let out a small chuckle, barely audible. 'Well…she's right about that, at least.' Carolina exchanged another glance with him, and Reach again nodded slowly. The redheaded Freelancer closed her eyes, seemingly unsure how to start off.

Carolina got in together, and she locked her green eyes with Texas's blue after she made sure no one was listening in on them. "Back then, CT said a few things. She said that the Director broke major laws and…"

Texas began to seethe at the mention of the brown Freelancer's betrayal. "Bitch called me a shadow." Carolina blinked slowly before continuing. "…that. Reach and I think, that maybe, there is a chance as to why she did the things she did. Either way, it's worth looking into."

Texas folded her arms. "And how, exactly, are we supposed to do that without the Director getting suspicious? He controls every single database on this ship! For all we know, he could be using the cameras to watch us right now!"

Reach then spoke, for he had a trick up his sleeve. "Not every database." 'I still have mine from Reach; I just updated it to contain new data on everyone.' He held up his datapad, with the fight against CT and the Resistance leader fully recorded. "I already had one before joining Project Freelancer."

Texas's eyebrows rose, and she stroked her chin. "It's still difficult beyond all measure, but, it's still possible. We have a chance at solving this."

Reach walked out of the medical bay, accessing his datapad to open CT's files. "I'll be back." 'Let's start this mystery, and hope we find more answers than questions.'

-0-

A few hours later

The Director sat in his chair, watching footage of a blonde Marine leading a squad of soldiers into a battle. 'Allison…why? Why did you have to die?'

'Even she doesn't know who she truly is, the successful copy of you. Texas wouldn't guess her existence in a second, as she has your memories.'

The door hissed open, and the Director spun in his chair to see his only child. "Carolina…I'm sorry if I'm too harsh on you." The redheaded Freelancer shook her head, placing down her sidearm. "Even when you are, I still feel grateful for giving me this chance." She turned around, walking out of the room and leaving the Director alone again.

'Carolina…you wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth.'

A/N: I know, it's short, and I don't really think it was that good of a chapter. But again, I'm only human. Next update should be in a few weeks (hopefully. I have a bunch of exams and shit that I don't want to do), so look out for the next one. See you!

Ja'ne